Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access
Encyclopedia
Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA) is the brand name of the W-CDMA
-based 3G
telecommunications services being offered by the Japan
ese telecommunications service provider
NTT DoCoMo
. It is an implementation of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
(UMTS) and was the world's first 3G service to commence operation.
NTT DoCoMo also offers HSPA
services branded FOMA High-Speed (FOMAハイスピード), which offers downlink speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/s and uplink speeds up to 5.7 Mbit/s.
air interface
, which is a form of DS-CDMA (Direct Sequence CDMA), in the late 1990s. It was later accepted by ITU as one of several air interfaces for IMT-2000 and by ETSI as one of three air interfaces for the UMTS.
NTT DoCoMo originally planned to launch the world's first 3G services, initially branded Frontier of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA), in May 2001. However, by May 2001, NTT DoCoMo had postponed the full-scale launch until October 2001, claiming they had not completed testing of their entire infrastructure, and would only launch an introductory trial to 4,000 subscribers. In doing so, they also renamed the service to Freedom of Mobile multimedia Access. In June 2001 trial subscribers complained the mobile phone
s had insufficient battery life
and crashed
frequently, that there was inadequate network coverage
, and that there were security
issues within the handset itself. As a result, DoCoMo recalled
1,500 handsets by the end of June 2001. FOMA successfully launched in October 2001 providing mobile telecommunications coverage to Tokyo
and Yokohama
.
Initially - as the first full-scale 3G service in the world - FOMA handsets were of experimental character targeting early adopters, and were big, had poor battery life and the network covered the center of Japan's largest towns only. For the first 1–2 years, FOMA was essentially an experimental service for early adopters - mainly communication industry professionals.
As NTT DoCoMo did not wait for the finalisation of the 3G Release 99 specification, their network was initially incompatible with UMTS. However, in 2004 NTT DoCoMo performed wide-scale upgrades on its network, bringing it into compliance with the specification and enabling 100% compatibility with UMTS handsets, including incoming and outgoing roaming.
Around March 2004, FOMA achieved the breakthrough into mass sales, and sales soared. As of September 29, 2007, FOMA has over 40 million subscribers.
around 2100 MHz, which has been originally assigned to IMT-2000 services worldwide, except in the Americas.
In order to improve coverage in rural and mountainous areas, NTT DoCoMo also offers FOMA services in the 800 MHz band originally assigned to the 2G PDC
mova service, which corresponds to UMTS band VI
and is similar to band V used in the United States
. These extended service areas are branded FOMA Plus-Area (FOMAプラスエリア) and require multiband terminals.
W-CDMA
W-CDMA , UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS...
-based 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
telecommunications services being offered by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese telecommunications service provider
Telecommunications Service Provider
A telecommunications service provider or TSP is a type of communications service provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services...
NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
. It is an implementation of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is a third generation mobile cellular technology for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed by the 3GPP , UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for...
(UMTS) and was the world's first 3G service to commence operation.
NTT DoCoMo also offers HSPA
High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
services branded FOMA High-Speed (FOMAハイスピード), which offers downlink speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/s and uplink speeds up to 5.7 Mbit/s.
History
NTT DoCoMo developed the W-CDMAW-CDMA
W-CDMA , UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS...
air interface
Air interface
In mobile or wireless communication, the air interface is the radio-based communication link between the mobile station and the active base station...
, which is a form of DS-CDMA (Direct Sequence CDMA), in the late 1990s. It was later accepted by ITU as one of several air interfaces for IMT-2000 and by ETSI as one of three air interfaces for the UMTS.
NTT DoCoMo originally planned to launch the world's first 3G services, initially branded Frontier of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA), in May 2001. However, by May 2001, NTT DoCoMo had postponed the full-scale launch until October 2001, claiming they had not completed testing of their entire infrastructure, and would only launch an introductory trial to 4,000 subscribers. In doing so, they also renamed the service to Freedom of Mobile multimedia Access. In June 2001 trial subscribers complained the mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s had insufficient battery life
Battery life
Battery life can refer to*How long a mobile device can work on a single charge of a rechargeable battery.*Battery lifetime degrading of battery quality over time....
and crashed
Crash (computing)
A crash in computing is a condition where a computer or a program, either an application or part of the operating system, ceases to function properly, often exiting after encountering errors. Often the offending program may appear to freeze or hang until a crash reporting service documents...
frequently, that there was inadequate network coverage
Coverage (telecommunication)
In telecommunications, the coverage of a radio station is the geographic area where the station can communicate. Broadcasters and telecommunications companies frequently produce coverage maps to indicate to users the station's intended service area. Coverage depends on several factors, such as...
, and that there were security
Information security
Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
issues within the handset itself. As a result, DoCoMo recalled
Product recall
A product recall is a request to return to the maker a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually due to the discovery of safety issues. The recall is an effort to limit liability for corporate negligence and to improve or avoid damage to publicity...
1,500 handsets by the end of June 2001. FOMA successfully launched in October 2001 providing mobile telecommunications coverage to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
.
Initially - as the first full-scale 3G service in the world - FOMA handsets were of experimental character targeting early adopters, and were big, had poor battery life and the network covered the center of Japan's largest towns only. For the first 1–2 years, FOMA was essentially an experimental service for early adopters - mainly communication industry professionals.
As NTT DoCoMo did not wait for the finalisation of the 3G Release 99 specification, their network was initially incompatible with UMTS. However, in 2004 NTT DoCoMo performed wide-scale upgrades on its network, bringing it into compliance with the specification and enabling 100% compatibility with UMTS handsets, including incoming and outgoing roaming.
Around March 2004, FOMA achieved the breakthrough into mass sales, and sales soared. As of September 29, 2007, FOMA has over 40 million subscribers.
Terminals
NTT DoCoMo offers a wide range of FOMA branded terminals, which are made specifically for the Japanese market. FOMA terminals differ from Western UMTS terminals in several aspects, for example:- Standardised menu structure and chargers.
- Japan-specific features such as i-modeI-modeNTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocol, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail and the packet-switched network that delivers the data...
or Osaifu-KeitaiOsaifu-Keitai, literally meaning "Wallet Mobile", is a trademark of NTT DoCoMo, which developed the system. It refers to mobile phones that integrate Sony's Mobile FeliCa ICs, as well as to services provided by applications on these phones....
(electronic purse). - Multiband-support, which includes band VI at 800 MHz for FOMA Plus-Area (newer models).
- No support for dual-mode operation with GSM/EDGE (except some models branded as World Wing).
Frequency allocations
In metropolitan areas, FOMA uses the UMTS band IUMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
around 2100 MHz, which has been originally assigned to IMT-2000 services worldwide, except in the Americas.
In order to improve coverage in rural and mountainous areas, NTT DoCoMo also offers FOMA services in the 800 MHz band originally assigned to the 2G PDC
Personal Digital Cellular
Personal Digital Cellular is a 2G mobile telecommunications standard developed and used exclusively in Japan.After a peak of nearly 80 million subscribers to PDC, it had 46 million subscribers in December 2005, and is slowly being phased out in favor of 3G technologies like W-CDMA and CDMA2000...
mova service, which corresponds to UMTS band VI
UMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
and is similar to band V used in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. These extended service areas are branded FOMA Plus-Area (FOMAプラスエリア) and require multiband terminals.